


A Captivating Flame

by KrisKris



Series: My Eternal [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV, Ghost (Sweden Band)
Genre: Cardinal Copia is an awkward smitten mess, Comedy, Ignis Is oblivious, M/M, One Shot, Pining, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 13:20:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19724494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrisKris/pseuds/KrisKris
Summary: Cardinal Copia was capable of many things but one thing was for certain, he did not have the courage to speak to such a stunningly gorgeous man.





	A Captivating Flame

There he was again. Tall, blond, eyes greener than emerald hiding behind a pair of spectacles. He wore all black and a purple leopard print dress shirt, ironed and neatly pressed with his hair styled upwards and a black, leather jacket. A careful, gloved hand pushed back his glasses as he made his way down the street to turn the corner into the next block over.

It continued on like this for months on several occasions with no interaction at all.

Cardinal Copia was capable of many things but one thing was for certain, he did not have the courage to speak to such a stunningly gorgeous man.

He would rehearse what to say in his head as well as to himself when he was alone. He practically imagined how his plan would play out and it was always smooth sailing. Again, the man would physically appear and he fled, having every attempt made to be all for naught. Constantly, he kept telling himself this would be the day!

Unfortunately, every other day had been put off due to his nervousness. How can a man of such a higher class than he was pay him any mind? Surely, he had better things to do and perhaps better looking people to do as well. Copia felt he was too awkward and aloof to bother trying to get this man's affections. He never even knew his name. He just knew he was strongly attracted to a man he hardly knew but wanted to know everything, yet he was stopping himself.

After another employee of the month award received, he promised himself he would speak to the man and if he was lucky, ask him out on a date. Now that the day had come, he grew anxious, worried the man may not show up on his usual route by the Chapel of Ritual without even acknowledging him. He was anticipating the moment where he finally appeared but at the same time he wasn't ready.

He was practically obsessed with the unknown blond who appeared briefly once in a while, it had caught on throughout the church to a point where Emeritus and the ghouls had a tendency to tease him whenever they saw him pass and poked fun once the man was out of earshot. Mostly, Emeritus came to him with advice on how to woo the man but those advances didn't seem to fit Copia's ideals. He only wanted to be himself.

This time, he wasn't outside making his attempts but he was inside occupied in his work, trying to ignore the growing anxiety of the possibility he'd walk a different way or not show up at all. He wasn't sure why he was doing this anymore. He didn't know why he was so hopeful until he heard Aether, one of his ghouls, barging in to bring him some good news.

“Hey, Cardinal,” the ghoul called out through the open door. “Your boyfriend's here.”

“What?!" he exclaimed, his heart stopped for a moment. He didn't know how to react and instinctively looked out the window to see the man standing by the sidewalk near the chapel with his back turned, seeming fixated on something in his hand.

He immediately jumped out of his chair, knocking over everything on his desk, not caring what it could be and scrambled out the door nearly knocking the ghoul to the ground.

Aether was quite impressed by the incredible strength he had no idea his human had. He hadn't seen him run that fast since the last Black Mass when he overslept.

Copia rushed out the door to see his beloved blond standing by the sidewalk, not yet seeing him. He relaxed a bit and exhaled, trying to calm his nerves before gathering the courage to finally speak to him. He straightened up his red cassock before moving forward, walking with swagger in every step.

From inside the chapel, Aether and Dewdrop were spying on Copia who was trying to turn on the charm, curious to see what he does next. They never saw him flirt with anybody as he came off as a bit eccentric, never expecting he actually fancied anyone either. They chuckled, watching the Cardinal strut his stuff out in public.

“What is that?” Aether snorted, watching the Cardinal swing his elbows with each step, Dewdrop chuckling right next to him.

“Good morning.” Copia heard himself say, surprised he didn't stutter this time. All that practice in front of the mirror really paid off.

The man turned to him with a soft smile, setting his notepad and pen back into his coat pocket. “Good morning.” he replied, then corrected himself. “Well, good afternoon, really.”

He felt a stab in his chest, like a dagger piercing his beating heart from the man's English accent. His voice was deep and unintentionally seductive from Copia's standpoint. Every little thing he learned from the first five seconds upon meeting him, made him fall in love with him more with each passing second. He was smitten by his appearance alone but completely infatuated by his voice, he had forgotten how to speak.

“I-uh, yes. Yes!” Copia agreed, nodding. “Good afternoon. You stay indoors long enough and you lose track of the time.”

“I suppose you're right,” the man mused, looking at his surroundings before glancing back at him and noticed his attire. “I do hope I'm not obstructing your service, Cardinal…?”

“ _Copia_.” He introduced himself and the man offered to shake his hand to which he happily accepted with both hands. “There is no service at the moment, no, I was only coming by to say ‘hello’,” Copia explained. “You tend to walk through here a lot, I see.”

“It's a good route to take a stroll through,” the man said. “Not many people and it's not a very busy street. It's almost quiet here but there are quite a lot of crows in the area.”

Copia's brows furrowed in concern upon asking, “Do you not like crows?”

“No, it's not that,” he shook his head. “They are very intelligent animals, it's just there are so many of them in one place, I've never seen anything like it before.”

“That is most curious,” Copia agreed. “But their company is most appreciated here.”

Emeritus was reading a book, walking by the main entrance when he noticed the two ghouls by the door and faintly heard Copia's voice. Curious, he quietly approached to see what was going on and sat down on the steps to eavesdrop while pretending to read, peeking up at them from between the pages.

“That was rather rude of me, I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself.” the man chuckled, appearing a bit as nervous as Copia felt. “I'm Ignis.”

Copia felt a chill run throughout his entire body, not expecting the man to have not only a beautiful face and voice but a beautiful name as well. Were there any other surprises he had laid out for him?

“You are so full of surprises, Ignis.” Copia praised him, giving a gentle kiss to his hand while looking deep into his eyes. “A befitting name for the fire that melted my cold, dead heart.”

He was convinced the man was an angel in disguise sent to lure him away from temptation to more holier ground, where he abandoned his old beliefs long ago. It was a tempting offer he just might take.

Ignis covered his mouth in surprise, though flattered, he was also quite shocked. “Oh, dear Lucis.”

He was at a loss for words. He wasn't sure what he did to get on the Cardinal's good side but he appreciated the well-deserved attention just not like this.

“I-I was wondering, if you aren't busy perhaps next time I could buy you some coffee,” Copia felt himself get nervous by how well this was going, he was sure this was a good omen. “I-I mean, if that's alright with you… you probably have better things to do, anyway.”

“I would like that, Cardinal.” Ignis chuckled nervously, still shaken up by what happened. “But, uhm, I was wondering… If… you could… l-let go of my hand?”

“Uhh…” Copia looked down to see he had been holding Ignis’ hand the entire time they had been talking. He hadn't even been aware of it.

“Sorry, sorry.” he let go, relishing the warmth that lingered. “I don't want to keep you, perhaps I should let you go now.”

“Th-That would be best, I suppose.” Ignis replied, lightly massaging his neck. “See you again.” he nodded and waved before setting off in the wrong direction and came back to go the usual route.

“Back for more, I see?” Copia teased as he walked past.

“Don't give your hopes up, Your Eminence.” Ignis replied smoothly, pushing back his glasses as he smiled and looked his way. “Until next time.”

Copia stood, watching him leave, trying to keep his silhouette engraved into his memories, hoping to see him once more. He was awestruck by how smoothly Ignis handled his own mistake in style.

“Until next time…” Copia sighed, telling himself as he watched Ignis disappear into a street corner.

Emeritus took this opportunity to approach the Cardinal and applauded him. “Congratulations, Cardinal,” he praised, standing next to him. “You've finally done it. So, did you get his number?”

Copia's eyes widened in surprise and felt his heart stop for a split second. “I...uhh…” he wanted to kick himself upon realizing that he didn't and threw his hands up. “Oh, shit! I forgot!”

Emeritus tsked, ashamed that he didn't follow the unwritten rule of attraction: ask for his number. “Well, if that wasn't the smartest thing you've ever done, I don't know what is.”

The ghouls cackled in the background, their laughter echoing from inside the chapel, giving off a sinister sound as it resonated throughout every open door.

Slowly, Copia brought up a hand over his face, wallowing in his own shame. The one important detail he completely forgot to abide by and he missed his opportunity twice. “What am I going to do?”

“Hey, you tried, Copia,” Emeritus consoled him with a pat on the back. “Maybe you'll see him again, eh?” He stood by his side briefly for a moment before leaving him alone with the sound of a crow cawing from a distance.

He sighed, seeing the Cardinal sulking was one of the things that worried him. If he was upset, it would affect his work and potentially slow him down and that wasn’t good on behalf of the clergy. If only there was something he could do...

Copia paced back and forth across the lawn, wondering if he should go try and find him. He peered through the open gate, looking around before spotting bundles of paper sitting out on the sidewalk, pages fluttering in the breeze. He picked up what appeared to be a small notepad.

He recalled Ignis writing in a notepad when he rushed out to greet him, perhaps it belonged to him.

He leafed through the pages and noticed how neat his handwriting was, perfectly aligned and not a single word out of place except for a few scratched out lines in ink. It appeared to be a sort of mini recipe book containing ingredients for meals as well as desserts.

Favorites were asterisked and specific details were underlined. He wondered if he told Ignis what his favorite food was, would it also be written with extra care as delicately as this one? He felt himself blush thinking about it.

 _Ignis…_ Such a captivating flame.


End file.
